‘This is just a start’: Lombardo, educators mark school zone safety bill signing

Clark County School District leaders joined Gov. Joe Lombardo for the ceremonial signing of a bill aimed at improving safety in school zones on Thursday at Rowe Elementary School.

The Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 6 during the November special session to double traffic penalties in school zones and give local governments greater control over school zone infrastructure. Lombardo formally approved the school zone safety bill on Nov. 29, and it will go into effect on July 1.

“We know that this is just a start,” Superintendent Jhone Ebert said, “but we’re very thankful to the Legislature and to the governor for signing this bill to make sure that our students are safer in our schools.”

The bill comes after local law enforcement agencies recorded 206 student pedestrian collisions in Clark County since the school year began on Aug. 11, Ebert said. The data reflects children who are involved in traffic collisions on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m, she said.

The count is a stark increase over prior years. Ebert said the increase is attributed to an uptick in electric vehicle usage and more distracted pedestrians, as well as improved data collection methods by law enforcement.

After a special session that was criticized and questioned over whether the issues raised constituted an emergency, Lombardo asked: “Can you imagine what’s more urgent than the safety of our children?”

“It’s gonna make a difference,” Lombardo said during the signing ceremony. “Quite often, legislation — unintended consequences or not — they hinder our need to change and act quickly, and this gives us abilities to address the consequences of our engineering.”

‘Strong message’ on safety

Local conversations about student pedestrian safety reignited this year after the deaths of McKenzie Scott, 18, in May as well as the October deaths of Cristofer Suarez and Haylee Ryan, both 12. Scott was struck in a crosswalk and killed by an impaired driver near Arbor View High School; Suarez was hit by a suspected reckless driver while walking to Smith Middle School; and Ryan was struck by a school bus while riding a bicycle near Lied STEM Academy.

Some parents have been taking their children’s safety into their own hands by forming volunteer crossing guard groups at select schools in the valley.

The school district formed the School Traffic Safety Working Group in August to develop a phased traffic safety plan by the spring. Clark County Manager Kevin Schiller the group has seen results: It was the group that suggested giving school zone design control to local jurisdictions.

“I look forward, and I know our board looks forward, to what we can accomplish ahead,” Schiller said. “One fatality is one too many.”

State Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, voted in favor of the bill that she said sends a “strong message” to drivers who choose to speed and ignore traffic safety laws.

“No mom or dad should ever worry that a child won’t make it home because a driver was careless or reckless,” Cannizzaro said.

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.